In the middle of another business trip, I’m once again struck by how the expenses are so much different from what they are in my personal life. My personality begins to change too: “The marble in the lobby isn’t shiny enough.”
I’m part-way though a trip with only 3 full days of meetings that will cost over $5000. Yet, I manage to play golf down south for 8 days for less than one-quarter of this amount. I’m not thrilled about the strange blue light in my current hotel bathroom, but I happily endure far worse during a vacation.
I think this is more than just a case of having a different attitude when someone else is paying. I actually tried to keep the costs of this trip down, but now that the money is spent, I find myself demanding that my treatment reflect the costs.
An amusing side note: there is a big sign at the entrance to to hotel stairway that reads “Stairway Trap”. A little googling revealed that “Trap” translates from Dutch more or less as “step”, but I found it funny the first time I saw it. You’re not likely to trap anyone if you tell them about the trap.
To quote Admiral Akbar: "IT'S A TRAP!!!"
ReplyDelete@Big Cajun Man: Fortunately, I didn't trigger any traps, but I was a little hesitant the first time on the stairs.
DeleteI think the same applies to meals on business vs. vacation. If you've been alloted a certain meal expense per day while on business, you'll go out of your way to ensure it's spent (multiple appetizers, desserts, etc)
ReplyDelete@Chris: I don't have any specific limit, but I've observed others from my company traveling this week who have a daily limit and you're right that they get right up to that limit.
DeleteNot so sure about this "You’re not likely to trap anyone if you tell them about the trap." They publish the MERs for mutual funds but they still seem to be selling them....
ReplyDelete@Bet Crooks: I guess it comes down to the definition of "tell". Burying a funny abbreviation (MER) with an safe-looking percentage beside it (2%) in the middle of some huge prospectus is different from saying to a person "half your savings will go to fees in 35 years."
DeleteThe price differentials you mention are interesting. It makes one question whether the economic relationship of supply and demand are the only factors that influence price. There are many examples of high supply and low demand where the price is still high; "inelastic" services such as surgical procedures can get away with large price differential, but it seems even elastic industry has the potential to raise prices without consequence in some cases.
ReplyDelete